In a major embarrassment for the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority the Lennox Herald reported over 118 trees were chopped down last week on land which the Park manages and provided an excellent photo of the damage (see here). While its unclear at present who was responsible for this, the extent of the…
Yesterday the Cairngorms National Park Authority called in a planning application (see here) for a dry ski slope by the Coire Cas Car Park at Cairngorm which had been lodged at Highland Council by Cairngorm Mountain Ltd, whose registered address is now Wilmslow in Cheshire. The idea of a dry ski slope here was originally…
The Allt Essan and Auchessan hydro schemes lie on the north side of Glen Dochart south of the Munros Meall Glas and Sgiath Chuil. Both were approved by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority in December 2014 but the Auchessan design was subseqently amended in 2015 (see here and here). While both schemes were…
In the Battle for Scotland’s Countryside last week (see here), David Hayman presented a brief history of the struggle for access rights leading up to our access legislation and then looked at three subsequent access disputes. On first viewing, I was a bit disappointed with how these were covered: the film of David Hayman entering…
The existing Cairngorms Forest Framework is ten years old and the Cairngorms National Park Authority have been consulting on a Cairngorms Forest Strategy to replace it (see here). The document sets out the “strategic direction on future forest management and the restoration of woodlands in the Cairngorms National Park over the next two decades” with…
The day of my post about the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority becoming a camping management authority (see here), the article above appeared in the Herald. Proof, if you want, that what I said is not the whole story and a reminder – if one is needed after the Cononish gold mine decision…
The Cairngorms National Park Authority meeting today has a fairly limited agenda (see here): an informative report from their Chief Executive on what has been going on; a four year corporate plan, a one year operational plan together, somewhat strangely, with a (welcome) paper on not paying Board Members who fail to attend meetings; a communications…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board Meeting on Monday morning was a laughable experience (see here for all papers). The camping byelaws now dominate almost everything the National Park does, even if LLTNPA Board members don’t appear to appreciate this, to the exclusion of what it should be doing. The laughs came…
Companies House, the part of Government responsible for registering and dissolving companies and filing information, including accounts, required by the Companies Act 2006 is under-resourced and ineffective. As a result often basic information which would help the public, shareholders or public agencies to understand what is really going on in a company is not available,…
After my visit to Firkin Point last Sunday (see here), I submitted a formal complaint about the toilets still being locked two days after the snow had gone when on the LLTNPA website it had said: “Opening toilets at Firkin Point from 1st March to be in line with the start of the camping season”. …
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s report for Ministers on the first year of the campiing byelaws (see here) was a spin job based on assertions and half-truths rather than facts. This week I have obtained through Freedom of Information some of the facts I suggested almost six months ago should be included…
Last week on Tuesday the LLTNPA Board unanimously agreed to give the go ahead to the Cononish goldmine. That they did so tells you everything which is is wrong about our National Parks in Scotland. That they did so unanimously tells you that there is still something seriously wrong with the LLTNPA Board. That…
I have been engaged in constructive correspondence with the HIE Chief Executive, Charlotte Wright, about what is going on at Cairngorm. While I welcome her willingness to engage, so far this has done nothing to prevent the mismanagement of Cairngorm Mountain continuing, while there is now significant circumstantial evidence suggests that “Natural Retreats” are heading…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park’s new camping byelaw “season” started last Thursday, unnoticed in the midst of the chaos created by the “beast from the east”. It was announced in a wonderful piece of parkspeak, “National Park prepares to welcome campers as byelaws come back into effect” (see here). A strange welcome you…
The consultation on the Cairngorms National Park Authority Main Issues Report ends tomorrow. Following previous posts (see here) and (here), this post takes a closer look at housing, which plays a prominent role in the report and features within a number of the Main Issues identified. Main Issue 2 Designing Great Places The Report notes…
Yesterday, on way up to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority meeting on the Cononish goldmine, I stopped off to take another look at the Derrydarroch hydro scheme in Glen Falloch – I had not been to the powerhouse area for over a year. I don’t recall seeing the top sign on the…
The consultation on the Cairngorms Main Issues Report (see here), the discussion document which precedes the new development plan, closes this Friday. The Scottish Government has mooted in the Planning Bill the abolition of such reports with Planning Authorities moving direct the draft plan stage in the name of efficiency. To their credit, the Cairngorms…
“Wild land areas must get the same absolute protection as national scenic areas and national parks. Time is running out for Scotland’s most precious natural asset: its landscape, as more and more wild land is eroded by development” That was the response of David Gibson, Chief Executive of Mountaineering Scotland, after the Court of Session…
On Sunday, returning early after a short ski tour over the Cairnwell in a white out, we stopped at the Devil’s elbow, where I had the pleasure of reading an estate sign which used the National Access Forum’s recommended template and form of words as set out in their Guidance on Deer Stalking and Public…
Both our National Parks have two statutory objectives which incorporate the term ‘sustainable’: “to promote the sustainable use of natural resources”, and “to promote sustainable economic and social development of the area’s communities”. As I revealed last week (see here), while the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has adopted a policy on mining…
Two weeks ago, when I was in Glen Clova, I went to take a closer look at some of the tracks I had seen while doing a round of the Glen Prosen skyline (see here). This post takes a further look at what has been happening. None of the five tracks featured here appears on…
Until a couple of days ago, there was NO information on the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority website about Board or Committee Meetings this year, no dates, nothing. I had written to the LLTNPA about this a couple of weeks ago, only to be reminded that the October 2017 Board Meeting had agreed…
The Scottish Government’s Planning Bill and the CNPA response In December, the Scottish Government published its Planning Bill and this is now going through Parliament and will be considered this month by the Local Government Committee. While in the Memorandum accompanying the Planning Bill the Scottish Government clearly states “The purpose of planning is to…
Following my post on what is going on behind the scenes at Scotgold Resources (see here), this post will take a further look at the landscape and wild land impacts of their proposals for storing waste extracted from the mine and their response to the objections made by myself and Mountaineering Scotland (see here). The…
Last weekend was the first time I had visited Glen Clova for several years. The public road up the glen terminates at a Forestry Commission (paying) car park and visitor centre. In contrast to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, which has installed gates across car parks which it then locks, the public are…